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ipl match-fixing
Step down or get sacked, apex court tells Srini
Legal Correspondent

Indicting Srinivasan and his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, the probe report had said the possible involvement of terrorists and hawala operators in betting and spot and match-fixing posed a grave threat to national security. The report had also suspected involvement of six India-capped players, hired by IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals, in the fixing and betting scandal. The three-member panel, which included Additional Solicitor General N Nageswara Rao and Assam Cricket Association member Nilay Dutta, had suggested the setting up of a special investigation team (SIT) under the CBI or the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and enactment of a national law to deal with the problem.

“In our opinion, Srinivasan has to step down if a proper probe is to be conducted. We don’t like to damage people’s reputation, but unless the BCCI president steps down no fair investigation can be done. Why is he sticking to the chair? It is nauseating,” the Bench remarked.

As the Bench said the panel’s findings were very serious and required further probe, the BCCI pleaded against disclosing details in the open court. Accepting the plea, the Bench asked Srinivasan’s senior counsel Aryaman Sundaram to have a look at the report to appreciate the court’s views.

The Bench posted the next hearing for March 27 as Sundaram sought time to consult his client over the court’s view that Srinivasan quit as the BCCI chief to facilitate a fair probe. The SC had set up the probe panel following a petition filed by the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) on the issue.

The probe panel had suggested that the SIT should consist of officials from specialised agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Income Tax. It also mooted enactment of a law providing for stringent, deterrent punishment for match-fixing on the lines of the dreaded Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and the “restrictive bail provisions” as in the anti-drugs NDPS Act.

The panel was of the “opinion that franchisee owner (India Cements, a company owned by Srinivasan) of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) failed to ensure that Meiyappan complied with the anti-corruption code of the BCCI and the operation rules and regulations of the IPL.

‘It’s nauseating’